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Star Wars
Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. The first release in the Star Wars saga, it stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness. David Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew co-star in supporting roles. Plot The galaxy is in a civil war, and spies for the Rebel Alliance have stolen plans to the Galactic Empire's Death Star, a heavily armed and armored space station capable of destroying entire planets. Rebel leader Princess Leia is in possession of the plans, but her ship is captured by Imperial forces under the command of the evil Lord Darth Vader. Before she is captured Leia hides the plans in the memory of an astromech droid called R2-D2, along with a holographic recording. The droid, accompanied by fellow protocol droid C-3PO, escape from the captured ship to the desert planet Tatooine. The droids are captured by Jawa traders, who sell the pair to moisture farmers Owen and Beru Lars and their nephew, Luke Skywalker. While he cleans R2-D2 Luke accidentally triggers the playing of part of Leia's recording, in which she requests help from Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke wonders if she is referring to Ben Kenobi, a hermit who lives nearby; then he retires for the evening. The next morning Luke finds R2-D2 searching for Obi-Wan, and meets Ben, who reveals himself to be Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan tells Luke of his days as a Jedi, who were a faction of former galactic peacekeepers with supernatural powers derived from an energy field called the Force, and who were conquered by the Empire. Contrary to his uncle's assertions, Luke learns that his father fought alongside Obi-Wan as a Jedi Knight before he was "betrayed and murdered" by Vader, Obi-Wan's former pupil who turned to the dark side of the Force. Obi-Wan then offers Luke his father's lightsaber. Obi-Wan views Leia's complete message, in which she begs him to take the Death Star plans to her home planet of Alderaan and give them to her father for analysis. Obi-Wan invites Luke to accompany him to Alderaan and become a student of the Force. Luke initially declines, but, after discovering that Imperial stormtroopers searching for C-3PO and R2-D2 have destroyed his home and killed his aunt and uncle, changes his mind. Obi-Wan and Luke visit the Mos Eisley Cantina, and hire smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate Chewbacca to transport them to Alderaan on their ship, the Millennium Falcon. Arriving at their destination, they find only debris; Alderaan has been destroyed by order of the Death Star's commanding officer, Grand Moff Tarkin, as a demonstration of the Death Star's power. The Falcon is captured by the Death Star's tractor beam and brought into its hangar bay. While Obi-Wan attempts to disable the tractor beam, R2-D2 discovers that Leia is imprisoned aboard. With the help of Han and Chewbacca, Luke rescues her. After several harrowing escapes, the group makes its way back to the Falcon. Obi-Wan engages in a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader and is killed. The Falcon escapes the Death Star, but unknowingly carries a homing device that enables Tarkin and Vader to track it to the rebels' hidden base on Yavin 4. The rebels' analysis of the Death Star plans reveals a vulnerable exhaust port that connects to the station's main reactor; they plan a mission to attack it. Luke joins the rebel assault squadron, while Han collects his payment for the transport and intends to leave despite Luke's request that he stay and help. In the subsequent battle, the rebels suffer heavy losses after several unsuccessful attack runs, leaving Luke as one of the few surviving pilots. Vader leads a squad of TIE fighters and prepares to attack Luke's X-wing ship, but Han returns and fires on the Imperials, sending Vader spiraling away. Helped by spiritual advice from Obi-Wan instructing him to use the Force, Luke successfully destroys the Death Star, killing Tarkin seconds before he can fire on the rebel base. Leia later awards Luke and Han medals for their heroism. Cast * Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker: a young man raised by his aunt and uncle on Tatooine, who dreams of something more than his current life * Harrison Ford as Han Solo: a cynical smuggler hired by Obi-Wan and Luke to take them to Alderaan in his ship, the Millennium Falcon, which is co-piloted by Chewbacca * Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia: a member of the Imperial Senate and leader of the Rebel Alliance * Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin: Governor of the Imperial Outland Regions and commander of the Death Star * Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi: an aging Jedi who fought during the Clone Wars, and who introduces Luke to the Force * David Prowse as Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones): the second in command of the Galactic Empire, who hopes to destroy the Rebel Alliance * Anthony Daniels as C-3PO: a protocol droid who speaks over six million languages * Kenny Baker as R2-D2: an astromech droid who is carrying the Death Star plans and a secret message for Obi-Wan from Princess Leia * Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca: a 200-year-old Wookiee, Han Solo's sidekick, and first mate of the Millennium Falcon Other characters include: Owen and Beru, Luke's uncle and aunt, are portrayed by Phil Brown and Shelagh Fraser, respectively; Jack Purvis, Kenny Baker's partner in his London comedy act, appears as the Chief Jawa in the film; Eddie Byrne performs the role of General Vanden Willard, a general during the Galactic Civil War; actors Denis Lawson and Garrick Hagon were cast as rebel pilots Wedge Antilles and Biggs Darklighter (also Luke's childhood friend), respectively; and Don Henderson and Leslie Schofield play Imperial Generals Cassio Tagge and Moradmin Bast, respectively. External links * Category:Films Category:Star Wars series Category:1977 release Category:Sci-Fi Films Category:Harrison Ford films Category:Alec Guinness films